Sport CHRONICLE
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Indian garment See Story company to on Page sponsor West 34 Indies for World Cup
Narine withdraws from Windies World Cup Squad ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Off-spinner Sunil Narine has withdrawn from the regional squad for next’s month Cricket World Cup, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) confirmed yesterday. The WICB announcement in the form of a release follows similar statements on social media by former West Indies players’ association president Dinanath Ramnarine. N a r i n e , w i d e l y re -
garded as one of the best spinners in the world, was banned for a suspect bowling action while playing in the Champions League Twenty20 Tournament in India last September. “Narine has undergone intense remedial work on his bowling action and preliminary tests have shown him bowling all his deliveries under the 15 degrees flexion allowance,” said the WICB
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Alpha opt out of Mayor’s Cup Sunil Narine celebrates the wicket of Raymon Reifer, Trinidad & Tobago v Guyana in the NAGICO Super50 final at Queen’s Park Oval, last Sunday. (Photo by WICB Media/Ashley Allen)
Smith marks spectacular season with Allan Border Medal SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - Steve Smith swept Australia’s annual awards ceremony yesterday, winning three prizes including the Allan Border Medal for the Player-of-the-Year. The middle-order batsman, who captained Australia to victory in the Test series against India when regular skipper Michael Clarke was injured, also won the Test and one-day International Player-of-theYear accolades. The 25-year-old Smith became the third player to land three awards in the same year, repeating the feats of Ricky Ponting in 2007 and Shane Watson in 2011. “I definitely feel like I’m a lot more confident now than
Hands full: Steven Smith wins three awards on Allan Border Medal night in Sydney. preparation has been really I was then,” Smith said, refer- good over the last while, ring to his lack of runs during like I’m hitting the ball as well as I ever have. You’ve the 2013-14 Ashes series. “I feel as though my got to try to be as confident
as you can, walking out to the middle.” In 2014, Smith scored 1 146 Test runs at an average of 81.85 with five hundreds coming against South Africa, England and India. He also scored 541 runs in ODIs including two centuries. He polled 243 votes to win the best player award by a big margin ahead of opening batsman David Warner (175) and last year’s winner Mitchell Johnson (126). “As a kid I used to sit back and watch the Allan Border Medal and see some of my childhood stars appear on the TV and receive these awards,” Smith said. “To have received one now is a pretty amazing feeling.”
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Alpha United president Odinga Lumumba GUYANA’S leading football team Alpha United have withdrawn for this year’s Mayor’s Cup competition. Chronicle Sport has been reliably informed that the defending champions opted out of the Mayor’s Cup citing preparations for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship. E ff o r t s y e s t e r d a y t o make contact with club president Odinga Lumumba and vice-president Steve Ninvalle proved futile. However, a source close to the national champions disclosed that the main focus is the CFU contest. “The club have started
preparations for the CFU championship. This is the most prestigious tournament in the English-speaking Caribbean. As such, a decision was taken by the executive to withdraw from the local competition and focus more on the CFU event,” the source explained. Alpha United were one of 24 teams invited to participate in the Mayor’s Cup which started in 1981 and this year’s competition will mark the 80th birth anniversary of Georgetown’s Mayor Hamilton Green. It is not yet known how the withdrawal would affect the local tournament. The Mayor’s Cup will see teams compete from January 31 to February 22 for a first prize of $1 million. The team placing second will collect $300 000 while thirdand fourth-place finishers will receive $200 000 and $100 000 respectively. Fruta Conquerors have won the title four times while Sunburst Camptown took away the crown thrice. Alpha United, Pele, Victoria Kings, Western Tigers, Police, GDF, Thomas United and Slingerz are the other teams to have won the competition. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015